Unexpected Survival
by Blu07
Summary: With victory in his heart Blu held Jewel in his grip, having finally found the power of flight he saved them both from the swirling abyss, if only he knew what was to come. The first chapter of my first story, any types of review are welcome as I aim to improve.
1. Survival and Tragedy

**Disclaimer **: I am not sure if this is necessary but it wouldn't hurt. I do not own RIO or any associated characters; this story has no relation to any owners of the RIO franchise and is entirely created separate from both Blue Sky and Fox.

This is the first chapter of my first story, all feedback of all types from anyone is welcome, I hope you enjoy this story, thank you.

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Chapter 1 : Survival and Tragedy

It was as though he had spent his entire life blind and had just now discovered the gift of sight. When Jewel had locked her beak with his and pulled him close for a passionate kiss it had shocked his system, causing unfamiliar feelings lost long ago to re-emerge, with his eyes still tightly sealed he slowly pulled away, a smile starting to grow on his beak, his heart racing and soul soaring he tenderly gripped Jewel in his talons and spread his wings wide. With a jolt his eyes opened and he soared, saving him and his beloved from the swirling abyss. Shocked, he glanced around at both his own wings and the water racing below him, barely daring to believe what his eyes revealed to him, he let out a shocked "Oh… wow!".

Jewel knew it was over as soon as she fell screaming from the plane. Although her heart was aching at the thought of never seeing Blu again, she was happy that at least he would go on to live, causing her to suffer a range of emotions from shock, to anger, to happiness upon the sight of Blu jumping from the plane and racing down to meet her. She glanced down at her soon to be grave but did not look back in time before Blu collided with her and wrapped his wings around her, preventing any serious damage from their collision. "BLU" she screamed, "You are crazy! What are you doing!" was what escaped her beak, although she was touched by him jumping out to her she was still angry from him throwing his life away. What came next stunned her for a full three seconds, as she heard the words "..chained to each other birds, remember?" leave his beak she finally decided upon a response, her heartbeat rising she pulled him close and kissed him, her first kiss. Pulling away she noted the smile upon his beak, happy that she had declared her love for him and made them both happy in their final moments, she closed her eyes and waited for the end with her love. What came next was the last thing she expected, instead of the pain of smashing into the swirling depths she felt her stomach lurch as Blu gripped her in his talons and rose up, skimming the water that before seemed so hostile, was now relatively peaceful.

"I'm flying!" was the main topic of thought in his mind, as Blu beat his wings to keep them airborne, it seemed as though reading all those books on flight had finally paid off, although he felt as though he had always known how to do this, which intrigued him. "Blu! You're flying!" were the words that floated up to meet him from Jewel, who he took care to keep secured beneath him. He called back to their kiss, the memory of which warmed him to the core and caused him to feel elated, calling back to an earlier conversation when they were on less than favorable terms, he responded with "Yeah!" let out a triumphant yell and followed up with "I'm flying! I'm really flying! You were right! I'm not an ostrich, I'm not an ostrich!" . They both continued to enjoy Blu's newfound flying skills in silence until they maneuvered around a small mountain, with Jewel startling a rock climber as she yelled out in joy and pleasure. He looked back at the startled climber, who was staring at them open mouthed, but before he could turn back his head a sound pierced his ear-holes, the sound of a horrified Jewel screaming in fear.

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Blu awoke with a start and found himself sprawled across the sand on a deserted beach, coughing he struggled to get up and noted the crown of his skull ached, as though something had repeatedly hit it with a hammer, or at least a very large rock. He noticed that something was missing and was hit with a near panic attack, franticly looking around he noted that Jewel was nowhere to be found. "Ok, calm down." He thought to himself, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. "Try and remember what happened." He thought, sitting down on a nearby weathered rock, he put his head in his wings and closed his eyes, trying to relax and recall the chain of events leading him to this beach. He pictured himself with Jewel in his talons speeding past a climber which they had previously startled with their sudden arrival, before he heard Jewel scream, he had turned to find himself colliding with a sky car and by extension, dropping Jewel. The last thing he remembered was her terrified eyes and horrified scream before he blacked out, and presumably washed up here on this beach. His heart ached as he thought about Jewel, recalling her injured wing and how unlikely it was that she had survived. He recalled their kiss and started to cry, his tears leaving damp trails in his feathers. "Jewel", he whispered. "I am… so sor.. sorry…." His voice trailed off, as he buried his face in his feathers, mourning the loss of his angel, his love. Time seemed to stop as though in respect for this blue macaw, doomed to spend his days alone as the last of his kind.


	2. Darkness Closes In

The second chapter, longer than the previous and hopefully just as good, if not better. Again, all reviews or PMs are welcome!

Please feel free to point out any mistakes or points in the story you found strange or confusing, I will be happy to fix them, thanks.

Enjoy.

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Chapter 2 : Darkness Closes In

Alone on a deserted beach sat the last macaw of his kind, trapped within the void that was his own mind an eternity seemed to pass by, even as the sun sailed through the sky and set over the horizon the bird never moved, as though rooted to the spot, his spirit crushed and future bleak. He lacked the energy to do anything but mourn the loss of the bird he loved, the bird he shared his first kiss with who was cruelly torn away from him mere moments after they had declared their love for one another, what was to be a joyous and triumphant occasion was now the run up to the tragedy that had sapped the meaning from his life.

The blue figure stirred when he heard a soft sound, a beating of wings steadily coming closer. Blu's eyes shot open at the realization of what it was. He recalled hearing the same sound once before, when he had first laid eyes on his angel. His mood lifted and grief vanishing he yelled "JEWEL", turning as he did so. The smile vanished as the sound did as his eyes revealed merely a dark sky and empty jungle before him. Again alone he went back to his grief, it seemed as though he was cursed, even his own mind set upon cruelly torturing him.

Hours passed before Blu yet again moved, the more logical part of his mind had finally stirred to life, temporarily giving respite to his grief. He had procured some manner of hope, a lifeline for him in the raging sea of his mind. The hope of which was quite logical to him. He had yet again, as he had countless times before that been replaying the events of the day before in his mind, unable to escape he had resigned himself to relive the memories until he had a thought. "I.. I survived and I was unconscious at the time, I remember Jewel was dropped without any further injury, although she did injure her wing she was still conscious, perhaps she was merely swept up elsewhere?" . Although upon first thinking this he decided to ignore it; the events of his mind playing tricks on him still fresh in his mind. He was unable to escape it, as it nagged at his very soul until he finally found the energy to stand, deciding that he would harbor this hope and find her, no matter the cost.

Although having only done it once before, it seemed to him as though he had done it countless times before that as he stretched out his wings and took flight into the diamond encrusted sky. Another gift given to him by Jewel before their cruel separation, the thought of which only drove Blu to fly faster, aiming to search as much of Rio as possible for one bird. Going by his situation of waking up washed up on a beach himself, he decided to logically start his search on the nearby beaches, keeping low and making sure to check any low lying water. Of note was the beauty of the water in the moonlight, the silver streams creating a rippling light display in the water, like those of the borealis lights he had read about back in Minnesota. The thought of his original home created a longing in his heart, a longing for the time before the events of Rio where his life was much simpler, although perhaps not as happy as he was when he was with Jewel. "Surely it was better to never know Love then to Love and lose?" he mused. Lost in his trail of thoughts he almost lost flight out of shock when he looked down, and saw two birds reflected back in the moonlit water.

As he stared at the translucent mirror below him he found himself yet again looking into the past, an image of himself carrying a happy Jewel, the event of course being preceded by the jump from the plane. Not wanting to torture his already mangled soul further, he managed to tear his gaze away from the sight, the image having vanished when he finally worked up the courage to glance back. The thought of Jewel only encouraged him to continue with the search, with a powerful flapping of his wings he managed to increase his speed, reaching his destination in just a few mere moments, although to him, time spent separated Jewel seemed to lose all meaning as it merely served to tug at his heartstrings and crush his already weak spirit. The next thing he laid eyes on almost caused his heart to burst, with tears fresh in his eyes he quickly swooped down onto the beach, barely daring to raise his hopes this time based on the past events as he slowly approached the object which had caused his shock. Upon reaching the object he stood solid, as though he had been petrified. The next few minutes were spent with him staring intently at the object, as though trying to commit it to memory. Although this was not the intention, as he already knew this object as though it was his own, although he did have plenty of this object already his were a slightly darker shade of blue. Crouching down he dropped his wing, with apprehension his wing inched closer to the object, not yet fully believing that it was real. He felt a jolt in his chest as his wing connected with the object, bringing it up fully into the moonlight. A single feather was revealed to the world.

There was no doubt in his mind, Blu knew the owner of this feather, the very same being he was looking for. He burst into a fresh batch of tears, each drop leaving a damp trail in his feathers. The tears of which were born of frustration and grief, he had been searching for over 5 hours now and yet the only sign of her was this single damp feather, he tried to remain hopeful but any attempts caused him to fall deeper into his well of despair as his world collapsed around him. The world had indeed been cruel to him, torturing him by fulfilling his dreams and then ripping them away, as easily as one would tear a piece of damp paper, although in this case that paper was his heart. He managed to yet again get a grip, although exhausted in both mind and body he took the feather and secured it in his talon, he would find Jewel. He refused to accept her as lost and knew that if he kept looking he would find her, no matter the cost. Upon thinking this he resigned himself to finally face his fear, although the dawn was approaching it was still dark, making the jungle all the more intimidating as he took flight and hovered near its boundary. He thought of all the books he had read on the jungle, the food chain, the diseases and all the other dangers the environment would bring, only magnified further by the darkness. He almost turned back and fled, but the possibility of finding Jewel gave him the courage he needed, with a remorseful sigh he flew on, disappearing into the depths of the dark canopy, swallowed into the night.

Each flap of wings further increased the strain on his body. His muscles burning and mind falling into the abyss he flew on faster still, ignoring his own self preservation in an effort to search for as long as he could. Using his sheer mental capability to both ignore his physical and mental needs, although they screamed at him to rest he pushed on, eager to pass through this place as quickly as possible in his search. He found himself lucky so far, despite the seemingly increasingly successful attempts the universe made on further decreasing his health. He had encountered no natural predators, in fact most of the jungle seemed deserted, although he knew looks could be deceiving as he navigated to pass a gnarled tree branch, looking back he gulped as he noted how very much the branch looked like a skeletal hand, reaching out for him. He tore his gaze away and increased his speed, eager to escape the branch lest it reach out and grasp him in its claw, sealing his fate.

He searched for another hour, constantly checking every hole and possible hiding place he could find. Although some he came across were inhabited, all he encountered were asleep, as it was still the early hours of the morning. As he continued this process he could feel himself slowly becoming less mobile, less active as his body and mind succumbed to sleep, he choose to ignore this for as long as possible though as he approached a rather large tree, with golden green fruit hanging at each branch. He picked up speed as he navigated to approach the hollow, but he found himself losing altitude. Over 24 hours of activity had finally taken its toll as he felt himself become light headed, slamming into the tree and falling, bruised and bloodied to the ground. As he lay there, on the forest floor he felt his mind slipping away. The last thought in his mind being the time he spent with Jewel at the club, her voice like an angels, ringing in his mind as he fell into the abyss.

Blu was dimly aware of laying somewhere relatively warm and comfy as he stirred from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes slightly to get a look at his location without potentially alerting anyone to his state. He seemed to be inside a tree, judging by the patterns commonly associated with wood lining the walls and the musky, earthy smell that hit him when he took a breath, an unknown experience for him, having spent his life in a cage. What puzzled him the most was how he almost felt at home here; the smell was not unpleasant and rather comforting while the walls radiated a sense of security, a sense of safety. He heard a noise to his left, turning his head slightly to glance at the origin of the noise his eyes widened in shock, as the image of a female blue macaw resolved before him, his brain was still processing this fact as he uttered the words "Je..Jewel?..".

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Authors Note:

I found it allot more challenging to write this chapter than the first, perhaps because now I have a story to follow rather than just writing whatever comes to mind. If you have any advice/suggestions you are welcome to PM me, thanks.

As a last note, thank you for the positive reviews for the first chapter, it is nice to know that I have written something people have enjoyed reading, although there was one rather odd guest comment, but that was rejected.


	3. Author Apologies

Just adding this to express my apologies for the lack of activity, I have been busy with College and to be honest lost the drive to update this story, but I fully intend to begin work on it again and intend to update it as frequently as possible.

I have a decent idea of where I will take this story but if anyone has any suggestions or anything in particular they would like to see feel free to PM me, thanks.


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